The word “don’t”….

As a golf professional or student of the game this word is very important, in that you should obliterate it from your vocabulary in the game of golf.  It’s a very powerful and negative word that can lead to disaster for your swing, focus, game, mindset and general overall enjoyment of the game.

As a Professional if you use the word “don’t” during instruction you’re conveying  a negative and this is what most people will remember.  Have you ever watched the news?  What do you remember after watching it? Currently it’s all of the distress, grief and misfortune occurring  in Haiti.  There’s rarely “Good News” on TV. We’re accustomed and tuned to the negative, have you ever rubbernecked at an accident to see what was going on? If yes, then why would you be so negative to a student, aren’t you trying to make them better?  Here’s what they will remember when they get on course….”Okay, so the pro said “don’t” grip it so tight or it could right, “don’t” stand so wide or it could go right.”  What happens to the student when you’re not there is that they will generally over compensate, grip it very loose, stand very narrow and then swing, have no idea where it’s going because the fear has been created by the word “don’t”.  Then they doubt the pro because they did everything he/she was told to in the lesson setting.  They should be remembering positive things, like, if I grip it looser and stand a little narrower, I hit it more solid.  The student could also be standing over a shot thinking “don’t go right” there’s OB there, don’t be short there’s water there, so, that leaves long or left in the trees, guess what, if the fear of  “don’t” is created it will remain present.  We have to replace the word with better words or phrases such as “eliminate, try not to, limit, overcome” etc. so we can provide a more positive outcome for the student when they get to the range or course. Try it next lesson, see how you do.

As a student, your focus of  “don’t” should also be replaced to a positive thought, such as “okay, where is my miss?”  Some may say this is a negative but that’s exactly what tour players figure out in practice rounds.  If it’s long like the example above this is where your focus should be, on that and that alone.  In other words, the thought has been translated to “if I hit this too solid, I will be long, but that’s safe.”  It will hopefully lead to the proper club selection as well, which will eliminate short and lets you think less about left and right. You have to create a type of tunnel vision that takes those  three other negative thoughts you may have had away and narrow it down to one.  Once you have narrowed that focus you will have given yourself a better opportunity at producing a better result. Make sure your pro/coach or instructor focuses on the positive.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or your local CPGA or PGA professional.

January 25, 2010 | Categories: golf instruction in toronto, golf lessons in ontario, golf lessons in toronto, Golf News, Jason Helman golf | Tags: clublink, CPGA, don't in golf, golf clubs, golf coach, golf coaches in ontario, golf coaches in toronto, golf instruction, golf instruction in toronto, golf lessons, golf lessons in ontario, golf lessons in toronto, golf swing, indoor golf lessons, Jason Helman, Jason Helman golf, johnston helman online, mental game, winter golf academy | 2 Comments